Design and Optimization of Radar Systems to Assist Rotorcraft Piloting in Adverse Environments

Rotorcraft are increasingly turning toward high-resolution Ka- through W-band radar sensors that can image terrain and obstructions but also see through the particulates that confound infrared and optical sensors, such as sand, ocean spray, and fog. As with any onboard sensor, designers must consider the antenna/platform interaction, and mature tools exist to address this type of problem. However, at these wavelengths, airborne vehicles can span several thousand wavelengths. This is well beyond the capability of any full-wave electromagnetic solver. While asymptotic techniques are practical here, they are powerless to model the antennas, themselves. We propose to investigate two novel techniques for integrating asymptotic and full-wave methods that can solve the end-to-end antenna/platform integration problem. One technique folds physical optics directly into method-of-moments to greatly expand the size of problem it can handle, but without compromising accuracy. The other splits the problem into small (full-wave) and large (asymptotic) regions, the novelty being the ease of integration that allows both solution regimes to fully couple. Phase I will focus on proof-of-concept and comparative evaluation of these two techniques. In Phase II, the more promising technique will be selected for full development, including a commercial-grade GUI.